State Labor Department Releases Preliminary March 2013 Area Unemployment Rates

The State Labor Department today released preliminary local area unemployment rates for March 2013, which are calculated following procedures prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state's unemployment rate relies in part on the results of a telephone survey of 3,100 households (out of more than 7 million) in New York State.

The state's private sector job count increased by 97,100 from March 2012 to March 2013. As reported last week, the state's unemployment rate was 8.2% in March 2013.

Local Area Unemployment Rates* (%), March 2012 and March 2013 (not seasonally adjusted)

*Data are preliminary and subject to change

March 2013*

March 2012

Upstate NY (52-co. area)

8.4

8.8

Metro Areas

8.1

8.5

Albany-Schenectady-Troy

7.3

7.8

Binghamton

8.8

9.0

Buffalo-Niagara Falls

8.5

8.8

Elmira

9.3

8.7

Glens Falls

9.1

9.7

Ithaca

5.3

5.7

Kingston

8.5

9.0

Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown

7.7

8.2

Rochester

8.0

8.3

Syracuse

8.5

9.0

Utica-Rome

9.0

9.3

Non-metro Counties

9.6

9.9

Downstate NY (10-co. area)

7.9

8.7

New York City

8.5

9.4

Suburban Counties

6.7

7.3

Nassau-Suffolk

6.8

7.4

Putnam-Rockland-Westchester

6.7

7.0

The data in the table above are not seasonally adjusted, which means they reflect seasonal influences (e.g., holiday and summer hires). Therefore, the most valid comparisons with this type of data are year-to-year comparisons of the same month; for example, March 2012 versus March 2013.

Unemployment rate highlights in March 2013:

The counties in New York State with the lowest unemployment rates include:

Tompkins County (5.3%)

Putnam County (6.3%)

Nassau County (6.4%)

Rockland County (6.4%)

The counties in New York State with the highest unemployment rates include:

Lewis County (12.3%)

Hamilton County (12.0%)

Bronx County (11.6%)

Jefferson County (11.5%)

Labor force statistics, including the unemployment rate, for New York and every other state are based on statistical regression models specified by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. These are the most up-to-date estimates of persons employed and unemployed by place of residence. Estimates are available for New York State, labor market regions, metropolitan areas, counties, and municipalities of at least 25,000.